About
We share stories of the refugee journey to advocate and educate, and to actuate integration.
We began in 2015 as a handful of writers, artists, and humanitarians who wanted to put our talents to work on behalf of refugees entering Europe. By the spring of 2016, we had formed the 501c3 nonprofit, Their Story Is Our Story: Giving Voice to Refugees—or TSOS, and headed to Greece to film, photograph, interview, paint, and ultimately befriend refugees. Our plan was to capture maybe a couple of dozen stories during that week, but to our surprise, we finished with over 70 interviews encompassing nearly 200 people.
Since then, TSOS has expanded to include dozens of team members—including refugees and former refugees—across several countries. We have traveled the world documenting stories of refugees, refugee volunteers, and refugee-supporting organizations. We have gathered hundreds of stories, produced dozens of videos and painted as many works of art, taken thousands of photos, and have published our first photojournal-istic hardcover volume of refugee stories, Let Me Tell You My Story.
We have made dozens of public presentations, including at UN gatherings, at institutes of higher education in the US, and in Europe. Our members have been guests on numerous television spots, radio shows, and podcasts. We are now launching our own podcast, educational curricula, and the Global Refugee Story archive housed at the largest private university in the USA. We have established strong partnerships and received generous grants from multiple foundations. This funding helps sustain our original but always-progressing mission of sharing first-hand stories to change the perception and reception of refugees worldwide.
We transform the perception and reception of refugees worldwide one story at a time. Ultimately, we envision a world where there is no "them," only us.
